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charger vs cooker

I don't know if this has been asked before because I'm on my phone and the search thing works yummy but any ways I noticed in the "making lipos last section" that someone asked the difference between a cooker and a charger and since I'm in the market for a new charger I to was curious know I know everyone has their opinion but can someone explain the difference between the two please. And if possible recommend a good charger without taking out a second mortgage?

Only cooker I know of would be used in the kitchen. As for a lipo charger, I suggest the thunder ac6 or ac680. Both are cheap, like 40-60 bucks and both do the job. Not the fastest chargers and cap out 5A for the ac6 and 6A for the ac680.

I learned this lesson the hard way. IMO you get what you pay for with chargers and I spent a lot of $$$ trying to save a buck or two buying inexpensive chargers that either failed prematurely or did not perform well and false peaked or over charged my packs. I dont think you need the top of the line but fell you should buy the best your budget will allow. Most chargers in the $100 to $200 range will treat your packs well and last long enough to get your monies worth out of them. I had very good luck with a Hyperion EOS 0606I but recently traded it for a ThunderPower 610C charger which is doing very well for me now.

I too learned the hard way. I too bought a cheaper charger lasted two charges and internal power supply went. Then bought same spec more expensive charger, another mistake although it is good and accurate and still works great. It was lacking the power of what i wanted.So know i have went over kill with a charger and glad i did.

Only cooker I know of would be used in the kitchen. As for a lipo charger, I suggest the thunder ac6 or ac680. Both are cheap, like 40-60 bucks and both do the job. Not the fastest chargers and cap out 5A for the ac6 and 6A for the ac680.

Sent from my Transformer using Tapatalk 2

The above chargers are the very reason I coined the phrase "$50 battery cooker." Yep, that was me.
Nobody who has moved past the bare-bones chargers would ever go back to them. There is a reason for that, which is "Good enough" really isn't.

Only cooker I know of would be used in the kitchen. As for a lipo charger, I suggest the thunder ac6 or ac680. Both are cheap, like 40-60 bucks and both do the job. Not the fastest chargers and cap out 5A for the ac6 and 6A for the ac680.

I too learned the hard way. I too bought a cheaper charger lasted two charges and internal power supply went. Then bought same spec more expensive charger, another mistake although it is good and accurate and still works great. It was lacking the power of what i wanted.So know i have went over kill with a charger and glad i did.

PERFECT example to prove that it is cheaper to buy a more expensive, decent charger first!!

Thanks for posting... hopefully this will help others realize that going cheap is not always cheap.

I got one of the first ones from Traxxas when they first came out. I've not had a single issue with it. Charged both NiMH's and Lipo's. I have both the 2 and 3s multiple charger connections as well. They have worked fine. It is not a fast charger by any means, but I'd say it's very reliable from my experience. Due to the amount of enjoyment my son and I get out of RC's, I'm going to step up to a bigger, faster charger for xmas.

I got one of the first ones from Traxxas when they first came out. I've not had a single issue with it. Charged both NiMH's and Lipo's. I have both the 2 and 3s multiple charger connections as well. They have worked fine. It is not a fast charger by any means, but I'd say it's very reliable from my experience. Due to the amount of enjoyment my son and I get out of RC's, I'm going to step up to a bigger, faster charger for xmas.

The issue with cheaper chargers isn't so much that they stop working pre-maturely in most cases. The real problem is how they treat your batteries.

Right on!! Take the advice from us guys that have learned the hard way. This is one of those areas you get what you pay for. I went through a handful of chargers and $$ down the drain. Months back I took some great advice from these guys above and purchased a Powerlab-6. Oh boy what a difference it makes in so many ways. I feel if you plan on staying with the hobby it will payoff in the long run. As a backup & to take along on trips I have a Dynamite Passport Ultra.

I do have the perfect paperweigh to hold down my schematics, Thunder-AC6. About what its good for.

I got a $50 Battery Cooker!!! My ac6 worked fine for about 1 yr and then for some reason when i went on a trip in the mountains it never worked the same again. charging a 2s lipo 1 cell will charge at around 4.16-18 only tops and the other will charge at 4.20-22 not good. its not the packs as it does it with 4 different lipos now. i tried my psu even on dc and still the same. I wanted to get the Icharger but looks like i will have to wait for a long while now but i can tell you this thread will help alot of people seeking a cheap charger and to know the good one's

So is the Thunderpower 610c a "cheap" charger? Cooker? I am confused, what are the specific things to look for in a charger that make it good, besides the price?

What makes the charger good is not solely dependant on the price tag. The specific things in a charger that make it good are the things you are reading on this thread.... User experience based reviews. Sure you could drop a grand on a well known brand named charger and should be able to count on the fact that it would treat your lipos well, unfortunately in the "average affordability" range it becomes a very grey area, so you need to do exactly what you are doing right now - research. A well known brand name (no knock-offs or clones) that offers technical support and good customer service will also go a long way when buying a charger. Any company that offers weak or no customer service doesnt believe in their product, so neither should you. Take a look at the "post your charging setup" thread here in the alley, it has some very good info and user reviews.

I have a Thunder Power RC TP820CD dual port charger and ProTek R/C Super Pro 1000 watt power supply now and its just plain awesome (and overkill) but was pretty steep in price at just under $700 after shipping, but the first decent lipo charger i purchased was the Venom pro charger plus. I still use the venom charger very often when i take my p2de to work with me and it continues to be a very reliable unit that has never mistreated any of my lipos. When i bought the venom way back it was $220+ but now they sell for about half that. Good luck!

I have the 610c now, before I had a cheapy balance charger and was pretty happy with it charging my cheap lipos. Now though I have decided to see what all the spc hype is about so I have two of their 2s lipos, but don't want to take a chance using a crappy charger.

limited power output has had a few improvements so far i hear its hit and miss. For the price i would pick up a Icharger 106B or higher for just 89 shipped. you do need a power supply but same with the venom charger your talking about yet you have 10amps with the 106B.

I love iChargers... not just because I own one, but because of the 6-8 months of research I performed before I bought one. lol
But, I will admit that they are not the only good charger company out there... Revolectrix is another good brand and I am sure there are others that are top of the line without the top of the line price tag.